


Beauty And Vice

by a_salty_alto



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Fusion, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blueberry Sibs au, Gen, Ib AU, M/M, Robots, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Temporary Amnesia, Temporary Character Death, The Velvet Room (Persona Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-03-17 09:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18962428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_salty_alto/pseuds/a_salty_alto
Summary: Some "what-ifs" and "what abouts" featuring Yusuke KitagawaFills for Yusuke Week 2019





	1. Day 1: Love/Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shukita
> 
> Soulmate AU + Velvet Room Yusuke
> 
> TW: temporary character death

The inmate has a mark on his forearm that's just barely visible sometimes when he holds onto the bars of his cell.

It's a small cluster of stars that sits right above his pulse point on his left arm. There's nothing particularly special about them, yet still Clerval can't help feeling compelled to draw it.

The inmate catches a glimpse of his sketches and fixes him with a gaze that makes him feel uncomfortable.

“Why are you drawing this?” the inmate asks.

Clerval, attempting to seem nonchalant, shrugs. “I simply saw your tattoo and liked the design.”

The inmate's shoulders drop. “Oh.” He rolls up his sleeve and stares at it. “It's not a tattoo, it’s a soulmark.”

“Ah, well congratulations. What are they like?” If he's being honest, the thought of the inmate being in a relationship causes Clerval's stomach to churn, even if he's not sure why.

The inmate doesn’t respond for a long while. “We met a few months ago, in May. He was a bit of a jerk at first,” the inmate laughs, “but we started to hang out more and somehow he became one of the most important people in my life. Then the soulmarks came in and I thought we'd have a future but…”

_“Ren’s all that matters.”_

“I'm sorry.” Clerval says.

“It was my fault. I should have called it for the day, but it was just one more request.”

Clerval can’t resist the urge to reach out and comfort the inmate.

The inmate reacts by grabbing onto the painter's wrist.

Clerval almost calls his sisters, but something in the inmate's eyes stops him.

“Sorry, can I just- I need to see something.” The inmate rolls up the Clerval's sleeve until a cluster of stars can be seen on his left wrist.

Clerval frowns. Had that always been there?

“Yusuke.” The inmate breathes, looking as though he's about to cry.

Clerval jerks his arm back. He feels like he's going to be sick.

_“Ah well, I can't risk you getting in the way.”_

Clerval clutches his head.

“Yusuke,” the inmate says again, more firmly this time. “ _Please_ if that’s you, you have to remember.”

_Yusuke feels the tears welling up. He shouldn’t be crying, he doesn’t want Ren to be sad. But still, Yusuke can’t help it._

_It’s selfish, but he wanted to see this through. He finds himself pleading with God, Satan, someone,_ anyone _to let him stay by his beloved's side._

“I think it's time for you to go.” Clerval says. Ren’s crying now, but he nods.

“Everything alright?” the master calls.

“Of course.”

The master’s face doesn’t change.

“Justine, Caroline, would you leave us alone for a moment?”

***

_Before he even opens his eyes, Yusuke feels a cloying sense of wrongness about his surroundings._

_"I can tell you're awake."_

_Yusuke opens his eyes, and finds himself is room practically oozing a deep blue from every crevice._

_The person who spoke is a small man hunched over a desk with bulging eyes and a large nose._

_"What is this place?" Yusuke asks._

_"This is my Velvet Room."_

_"The place Ren goes to fuse new personas?"_

_"That is correct. This room is inexorably linked to it's guest, just as you are."_

_Instinctively, Yusuke reaches down and rubs the soulmark on his left wrist._

_"How did I get here?" He asks._

_The man-- Igor, Yusuke supposes based on what Ren's said-- chuckles. "It is quite the unusual occurrence. The how's don't matter though. I'd like to make you a deal."_

_"A deal?"_

_"You provide the inmate with a specific service, and you will continue to do so."_

_Yusuke's heart leaps into his throat. He can see Ren again?_

_"In exchange, you will obey my orders without question."_

_Yusuke bites his lip. Should he trust this man? Ren hadn't mentioned Igor much, but he seemingly didn't like him. And if this room was tied to Ren's heart, what was this sense that everything was off?_

_"Will you tell me more about this place? You can't expect me to take such a deal with so little information."_

_Igor laughs again, "no, I just hoped this might be simple. Ah well, I can't risk you getting in the way." At that, Igor's eyes started to glow red._

_Out of the corner of his vision, Yusuke could see a small butterfly telling him to run._

_***_

“Hello, my name is Clerval,” he says as soon as the inmate arrives. He stares at Clerval, then turns to the master and glares.

“It’s nice to meet you?” Clerval says, confused.

“Yeah, it’s... nice to meet you too.”

As Clerval explains his services to the inmate, he catches a glimpse of a small mark on the inmate’s left arm.

Distantly, Clerval wonders what it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll be fine. Everything's gonna work out in the end and then when Ren goes back home he can occasionally go on dates with his weird boyfriend who comes from nowhere sometimes.


	2. Day 2: Inspiration/Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke & Ryuji friendhsip/implied Ryukita
> 
> Ib AU
> 
> TW: Character death

Ichirayusi Madarame is famous for his many works of art. Critics have called them so varied that it was hard to believe they came from one person.

Too bad appreciating such things was difficult when those works of art were actively hunting you down. 

“This was not what I signed up for when I agreed to come to this exhibit,” Ryuji pants. “Creepy ass mannequins, frickin’ math problems.”

“It’s quite a lot.” Yusuke replies simply.

“How’d you end up in this mess anyway?” Ryuji asks.

Yusuke shrugs, “I assume similar circumstances to you.”

Ryuji nods, “My pal Ann and her girlfriend won free tickets and I stupidly decided to tag along. I dunno why, honestly, because the obvious happened and I ended up the third wheel. I wandered off to give ‘em some alone time and then....” Ryuji nods to the yellow rose in his hand. Yusuke looks to his own blue one.

“I’m an aspiring artist,” he says. “I love to paint, it’s been a passion of mine from a young age. When I was four, I was painting while my mother worked on her own piece and I was so focused on my work, I almost drank paint water.” Yusuke can’t help but smile at the memory. If he closes his eyes, he can see it clearly, a sunny afternoon in the atelier to contrast the dark halls of the museum he’s in now.

“You still want to be an artist after all this?”

Yusuke nods firmly. “Of course.” 

Ryuji laughs, “That’s impressive man. If we make it out of here alive, I swear I’m never looking at another piece of art again.”

Yusuke takes his time to respond, thoughts swirling in his head. “Ryuji. Say only two of us could make it out of here. What would you do?”

“I… dunno,” Ryuji stammers, caught off-guard. “Don’t say things like that, Yusuke. Of course all three of us are going to get back to the real world! And anyone else who got themselves lost in this crazy place.”

Yusuke laughs. “You’re optimism is infectious.”

“Hell yeah it is!” Ryuji, straightens, energy renewed. “Now, we just gotta find Ren.”

.

.

.

“He’s not real.” Ren says, and Yusuke frowns out that. 

That’s not true.

Well technically it is, but it’s not.

“Madarame didn’t paint me.” Yusuke says simply.

“Yusuke?”

“Then explain this.” Ren holds out a book to Ryuji. Yusuke recognizes the spine and knows the page Ren points out will have a picture of a painting. The painting will have a young man with blue hair and youthful face, and underneath it will simply read:

“Inari,” 20XX.

_ An oil painting completed towards the end of Madarame’s career. Like all his works it is not based on a real person _ .

“Everything on that page is a lie.” Yusuke says when Ryuji can’t even look him in the eyes. “My name’s not Inari, I was not painted by Madarame, and I am based on a real person.”

He can feel it in the fibers of his being. The woman who painted him was remembering her child. The memory of a four-year-old boy so focused on his child-sized canvas he hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings. Yusuke was what that woman had hoped her son could have grown up to had things been different. Had she not been sickly. Had she not passed that illness onto her child.

Had he not died of a fever one night.

She’d spent years distraught, allowing Madarame to use her works under his name to gain fame and fortune. 

What did she care? She just missed her son.

Judging by the horrified looks in their eyes, Ryuji and Ren don’t really seem interested in hearing that though.

Yusuke can’t help but laugh at it all. He’s so close. So close to getting out! Maybe he could even find his mother.

_ No, something like that isn’t right _ . A voice in the back of his head says. They’re not from here, he should help  _ them _ get out. 

The nausea overtakes him again, and Yusuke falls to one knee. The voices in his head are screaming.

“Yusuke!”

The flood of emotions that guided each brush stroke upon his canvas overtakes him again.  _ Grief, love, anger, despair, hope, _ it’s all too much. 

He just needs things to be quiet. He wants to… what does he want to do? What can he do? He….

Everything blurs and his mind screams. 

He needs to get out of this damned museum. 

Slowly, Yusuke opens his eyes, and spots something glinting by him on the floor.

Slowly, he picks it up.

A palette knife.

Only two people can leave this place. One of them just needs to go.


	3. Day 3: Childhood/Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minato, Naoto, and Yusuke are siblings AU
> 
> TW: None

Yusuke picks up the scattered pages of his sketchbook, holding back tears. Countless drawings were completely ruined.

“What happened?” Minato asks as soon as Yusuke comes home.

“Nothing new,” Yusuke shrugs, “the other kids stole my sketchbook and made fun of me.”

Naoto looks up from her book and frowns. “I can talk to the teachers.”

Minato shakes his head. “Don’t bother. We’re moving again.”

The news isn’t a surprise to Yusuke. His backpack is still in the corner, barely unpacked since they’d come to stay with their most recent… cousin? Uncle? Did it matter?

“Who are we staying with now?” Naoto asks.

“No one. I got a scholarship to a boarding school. Gekkoukan.”

Naoto gasps. “We’re going back to Iwatodai?” 

Minato nods.

Yusuke knows Iwatodai holds more memories for them than it does him. He wasn’t even a year old during that fateful night on the Moonlight Bridge after all. The few times Minato had really talked about it left Yusuke curious to see the man-made island.

“We can come with you?” Yusuke asks.

“Yeah, I made sure we’d all be able to stay in the same dorm.” Minato says.

“Where will we go to school?”

“Gekkoukan has a middle school and junior high connected to it, right?” Naoto says.

Minato shrugs. “I guess, I just made sure we’d stay together.”

“So, when do we go?”

“We’ve got train tickets for next Tuesday.”

Naoto raises an eyebrow. “That’s fast. Someone excited for us to arrive or excited to get rid of us.”

Minato says nothing, and slips on his headphones. Naoto sighs and goes over to the computer, pulling up the Gekkoukan website.

“Hey, Yusuke look! They’ve got some cool art facilities.”

Yusuke frowns. “I dunno if I wanna do art,” he mutters.

“Why? I thought you liked it.”

“The other kids always make fun of me. Or call me creepy.” Yusuke knows his transcripts are full of teachers’ notes calling him “disturbed” for drawing green skies and cities of coffins. Even when Minato and Naoto had finally managed to explain to him that no, not everyone knew about that so he shouldn’t bring it up, he’d still been teased for preferring to sketch his classmates than join them on the playground.

“Well, it’s a clean slate!” Naoto says.

Yusuke pouts. “It’s  _ always _ a clean slate, and it never changes.”

“It’s a school full of rich people! Do you know the kind of art supplies they can afford? I bet you can get oils and charcoal and the really fancy stuff.”

“Would they allow a middle schooler to use all that?” Yusuke asks hesitantly.

“Even if they didn’t, you’ve got an hour to work on it every night.” Minato suggests.

Naoto moves aside, letting Yusuke get a closer look at the Gekkoukan website. 

“Well… it would be nice to try some nice materials” Yusuke says. 

Naoto laughs and Minato ruffles his hair a bit. “There’s our Yusuke.”


	4. Day 4: Painting/Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Implied Akekita
> 
> Yusuke is an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon made by Shido to assist Goro AU
> 
> TW: discussions of violence

Yusuke knows he shouldn't enjoy painting as much as he does. He only started so that he could more easily fake his cover as one of Madarame’s pupils and ingratiate himself into the Phantom Thieves.

Painting is frivolous. It’s not productive to his mission.

But still, he loves it.

Maybe it’s because of the very reasons he’s not supposed to like it. He's not programmed to paint. There are no parameters guiding what he does with a brush, no orders he needs to fight against or find loopholes for. He's free to do what he wants.

It's the one way Yusuke can be said to he like a human.

The door to the apartment opens, and Goro strolls in. "That a new piece?" He asks.

Yusuke smiles and nods. 

"It's... intense"

_ “Thank you, it represents my frustration at knowing that Shido doesn't trust you and I'm supposed to kill you,-- that I  _ will  _ end up killing you, and Ren, and probably our other friends if they try to stop me-- and not being able to tell you.”  _

Isaac Asimov created three laws of robotics that would theoretically prevent a robot uprising. Yusuke only has one: obey any order given to him by an authorized user and carry that orderout in whatever way draws the least attention back to Shido.

"Yusuke are you feeling alright?"

Yusuke realizes he’s taken .034 seconds longer to respond than usual.

"Of course, why would you ask that?"

"It's just... you've been avoiding people lately. Ren's started to ask about you."

Yusuke dips his paintbrush and focuses on his strokes while formulating an answer.

_ “I’m avoiding you because I can’t be ordered to hurt anyone if I don’t hang around them,” _

ERROR: Akechi Goro is not authorized to know of those orders

_ “I’m avoiding you because I’ve had to go back and run some diagnostic checks.” _

ERROR: Akechi Goro may feel the need to investigate, and may discover information he is not authorized to know.

_ “I was painting.” _

ACCEPTABLE.

“I was working on some pieces,” Yusuke says. “It helps my cover as an ex-pupil if I have some paintings to my name, especially if they’re good.”

Goro shrugs. “Alright. But let’s go to Leblanc sometime and meet with the others. They’re starting to notice you don’t seem to eat.”

“Sounds good!” Yusuke says, even though he doesn’t mean it.


	5. Day 5: Dreams/Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gen
> 
> Yusuke is Azura and Shigure's descendant AU
> 
> TW: None

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Please listen to Matther Mercer singing as Shigure it’s really good and probably helps when reading this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD5uh9qVU_4)

Ever since he was a child, Yusuke's dreamed of a place where rocks floated above the ground, where magic ran wild, and the blood of dragons coursed through the land.

In his most vivid dream, he's walking by the lakeside with his mother, and she tells him stories about a mad dragon who destroyed the kingdom he onced loved, and who could only be calmed by a special song.

It's just that though, a dream.

Certainly all those things couldn't really be true?

And yet, that dream is what he thinks back to now staring Death in the face. 

If a special song can calm a mad dragon, certainly it would help quell the Death itself?

"You are the ocean's gray waves..."

The Reaper stops it's slow procession towards Haru and sharply turns in Yusuke's direction.

Yusuke holds onto his mother's necklace, and stomachs the fear.

"...destined to seek life beyond the shorex just out of reach..."

The stone at the center of the necklace starts to glow, a soft blue light to cut through the harsh red of Mementos.

"...yet the waters ever change, flowing like time..."

Yusuke can feel the others staring at him, but he focuses instead on the Reaper, staring at him despite its lack of eyes. Its stopped now, and Yusuke isn't sure what it'll do.

"...the path is yours to climb."

As Yusuke sings the final note, another burst of energy radiates out from the stone. The Reaper lowers its weapons and proceeds to drift away.

The silence floats in the air.

“What the HELL?” Ryuji shouts.

“Fox, what did you do?” Makoto asks.

Yusuke winces. “I… can’t really tell you.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a curse.” Yusuke explains. “Basically, there are certain details I can’t mention or else I disappear forever. I don’t know how much I can really get away with telling you.”

Ren pats him on the back. “That’s fine, don’t risk it. I think we can all accept magic singing as an answer and leave it at that.”

Everyone chimes in in agreement and they start to go to the Mona bus.

Yusuke hangs back from the others and tries to hide the pain.

After all, in his dreams, his mother warned that singing that song had a price.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr is [ yusuke-of-valla.tumblr.com](https://yusuke-of-valla.tumblr.com/) by the way, I yell about Yusuke on there a lot.


	6. Day 6: Senses/Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gen/implied YusuAnn
> 
> Set during Madrame's Palace
> 
> TW: Nightmares

_ Yusuke can’t move his own body. He’s forced to watch as his limbs move on their own, striking down everyone in his way. _

_ Ryuji, Ren, Morgana. _

_ Ann _

_ All of them felled by his blade, and he can’t control himself. He can’t stop. _

_ He can’t- _

It’s Sunday morning and Yusuke is half awake on the train platform, so unaware of his surroundings that he doesn’t hear Ann calling his name until she’s standing right in front of him.

“Sorry,” he says, “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Homework?”

“Nightmares.”

“Oh that's rough.” Ann says. She leans closer and in a soft voice asks, “Metaverse related?”

Yusuke swallows as disconnected flashes and half-remembered scenes from last night replay in his mind.

“Yes.”

“Do you feel like talking about it?”

“...not particularly”

“Alright, then.” Ann loops her arm through Yusuke's and starts tugging. “But I know just what'll cheer you up! Whenever I have nightmares like that, I get crepes.”

Yusuke stares at her. “I-I can't.”

“C'mon! It'll be my treat!”

After another moment, Yusuke relents. Ann buys them crepes and they share them on a bench.

“Ann?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you. I'm not sure how I can repay you.”

Ann laughs. “You don't have to pay me back, the crepes weren't that much.”

“Not just the crepes. Everything else.” Yusuke looks at his hands. “For letting me be your friend, for giving me the chance to fight beside you, for saving me. I owe you my life.” 

Yusuke doesn't realize he's crying until the tears land on his clenched hands.

“Yusuke…” 

Ann pulls Yusuke into a tight hug.

“You don't owe us anything. We're happy to have you on our side.”

“I won't let anything happen to any of you.” Yusuke says softly. He's not sure if Ann hears.


	7. Day 7: Stars/Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke & Makoto
> 
> During the Kaneshiro arc
> 
> TW: none

Everything feels… floaty.

Yusuke’s thoughts refuse to slink together properly. He vaguely remembers a flash of light before blacking out but otherwise he doesn’t know how he got here or where “here” even is. It’s dark, but he’s not restrained. 

Still, Yusuke can’t bring himself to move.

“-x!”

“F-x!”

“Fox!”

Someone was calling him?

“Fox! C’mon, wake up!” 

“Hnngh?”

“Fox! Alright, can you move?”

Yusuke tries to turn towards the voice, but only manages to fall face first onto the floor.

“Gonna take that as a no, then.”

Hands start pulling him across the wooden floor, until he’s picked up. Yusuke blinks as the face of his rescuer comes into focus.

“M’koto” Yusuke slurs “Wha’s goin’ on?”

She hushes him. “I’m getting you out of here.”

She summons Johanna and positions them so Yusuke won’t fall off. Which in this case means she drapes Yusuke over the front and leans over him.

“Hold tight.”

Once they’ve managed to get a decent ways away from the shadow’s lair, Makoto stops, and leans Yusuke against a wall ground.

“You alright?” She asks. “You looked like you were about to puke.”

“”M fine. We shouldn’t stop.” Yusuke tries to stand up, but almost immediately falls over and Makoto has to catch him. 

“We can spare a few moment’s rest. We’re not big targets like when we’re all in the van. How do you feel?”

“My limbs feel like noodles,” Yusuke says, “and I can’t think straight.”

“Let me help with that.” Makoto casts a spell, and a warm feeling washes over Yusuke. All of a sudden, everything is clearer. “That better?”

“Yes, thank you.” Makoto helps Yusuke stand up again, and this time he fairs much better.

“Do you remember what happened?” she asks.

Yusuke frowns. “No. I remember a bright light, and then you finding me.”

“Once we were done with our training for the day, a shadow ambushed us. You got knocked out, and the shadow used some sort of flashbomb to keep us from following as it dragged you off.”

Yusuke closes his eyes and tries to think back, but what she describes doesn’t come back to him. “I’m sorry, I don’t-” 

Suddenly, another wave of dizziness overcomes him.

“Yusuke? Are you alright?”

“Yes, just a dizzy spell,” he says “I didn’t eat last night, that’s it. Where are the others by the way?”

“Pretty much as soon as we realized you were gone, the Reaper showed up and started chasing us around. I split off to go find you on Johanna.”

“The last rest area was about three levels up, right?” 

Makoto nods. “Yes.”

“We should make our way up there then.” Yusuke says.

Makoto shakes her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What? We’re sitting ducks out here.”

“Even if we were both in condition to fight, we couldn’t fight our way through two whole floors full of shadows.”

“First of all, I  _ am _ in the condition to fight. Second, we stand a better chance sneaking past a few of those shadows than we do hiding out from the Reaper.”

“We’re better off staying on the same floor and waiting for the others to find us.”

“Find us how? The layout of this place changes!”

“Yes, so it’ll be easier if they can narrow their search down to one floor!” Makoto takes a deep breath. “Look, the fact of the matter is this. I drive the bike, I decide where we go.”

Yusuke groans. “Why’d you even come on your own anyway?”

“Um, because I was worried you’d get eaten, asshole!”

“So our strategist thought the best idea would be to get herself eaten too?”

“Yes, and because I’m the strategist, I knew it’d be the most efficient way to, and I will reiterate,  _ save your ass.” _

“For someone so smart, you run into a surprising number of situations without thinking. One would question your sense of self-preservation.”

“I’m sorry? Why didn’t you have dinner last night? Is it because you spent all your food money on some shiny new art toy?”

“Those were high quality acrylics in the exact shade I needed!”

“I’m just saying, you’re not one to be talkin-”

An explosion rocks through the corridor, throwing Yusuke and Makoto against the wall.

“Kitagawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ Where’d you gooooooooo~”

“Well, shit.” Yusuke coughs. “Looks like the shadow’s realized I was gone.”

“Get on the bike!” Makoto shouts.

“Yes ma’am.”

They tear through the halls as a loud scuttling behind them gets louder.

“Don’t worry Kitagawa!” The shadow’s laughter echoes through the halls. “I’ll find you!”

The dizziness is back and Yusuke tumbles straight off the back of Johanna. He’s back to feeling the way he felt in the shadow’s lair, and all he can do is lay face down on the ground.

“Fox!”

“Mmmfgh!”

Johanna turns around, and Makoto kneels next to him and turns him so he’s facing her. “What happened?”

“Shadow.” is all he can make out.

“It’s still affecting you?”

Yusuke nods weakly, just as the shadow in question rounds the corner, eight glowing, red, eyes locking on them immediately. “Get away from him!” It shrieks.

“Johanna!” Makoto calls. Blue energy explodes in the shadow’s face. While it’s distracted, Makoto throws Yusuke over her shoulder and starts driving away.

“Go… to… rest area.” Yusuke says as he’s being bounced around on Makoto’s back.

“Not the time!”

Through the fog in his brain, Yusuke tries to focus.

“Goemon!” Ice forms in their wake, and the shadow starts to slip.

Unfortunately, it turns around and spits out a web that manages to grasp Johanna, yanking both of them back.

Yusuke and Makoto go flying.

Yusuke slams into the wall and crumples to the ground. Makoto skids to a stop at the shadow’s feet.

“You!” It growls, “You stole him!” The shadow raises as long black leg to strike.

Before it can though, a small piece of ice explodes in front of it.

“Don’t-” Yusuke says in a way he hopes is intimidating, but probably just sounds pathetic.

The shadow frowns, and shoots another web, which starts dragging Yusuke over to it. “You’re not getting away so easily next time, Kitagawa. I’ll make sure of that.”

Yusuke can’t do anything but be dragged along.

He locks eyes with Makoto as he’s pulled past her and notices her spot something behind him. She lunges forward and they roll to the side, just as a familiar black bus slams into the shadow.

“Told you it was better to stay here.” She says.

“Not the time.” Yusuke mutters.

The last thing he sees before passing out is Joker summoning Arsene.

~

The next morning, Yusuke finds Makoto outside of Shujin.

“Hello, Yusuke. Are you looking for Akira?”

Yusuke shakes his head. “No, I was looking for you actually. I never properly thanked you for saving me, or apologized for insulting you.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to apologize,” Makoto says as Yusuke starts digging through his bad, “I mean, you weren’t wrong. As the newest Phantom Thief, my desire to prove myself factored into my decision to go after you more than it should have.”

“Nevertheless, I got you a thank you present.” Yusuke pulls out a box of sweets. “And I was in your shoes a month ago, I know how you feel if you ever want to talk about it.”

“Thank you.” Makoto says, “that’ so- holy crap, these are expensive!”

“Only the best.”

“You have no money left, do you.”

“The fact that you like the gift will be enough to sustain me.”

Makoto stares at him then bursts out laughing. “Alright then, you want to go to the underground mall and hang out for a bit?”

“I’d love to.”

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
